


Sea Witch

by aggiepuff, Whedonista93



Series: Princess of the Isle [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Maleficent (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz, The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aunt Ursula, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Bad Puns, Cousin Sea Adventure, F/M, Gen, Melody is an awkward baby, Mermaid Melody, Mermaids, Not Evil Ursula, Sea Three, Sea Three becomes Sea Four, Sea Witch Ariel, Uma and Melody are cousins, Ursula is Triton's Siser, Very Mild Family Drama, very bad puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2020-11-26 14:50:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20932022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aggiepuff/pseuds/aggiepuff, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whedonista93/pseuds/Whedonista93
Summary: When Ben announced that he would be bringing the children of Villains to Auradon, Melody called her mom. The answer she got, however, was not what she expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work as inspired by the absolutely amazing artwork found on [this](https://unpretty.space/post/185507102036/aleikats-if-ariel-was-under-ursulas-care-and) Tumblr post. Truly beautiful work by the supremely talented Alane G. Check out her twitter [here](1132078598599299072).
> 
> This story runs parallel with Princess of the Isle and we recommend reading that one first. Please enjoy our story!

"So let me get this straight," Melody said, frowning. "Ursula isn't actually Evil."

On the other end of the call, Ariel answered, "That is correct."

"You were her apprentice."

"Yes."

"She volunteered to go to the Isle to keep an eye on things."

"Yes."

Melody flopped onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling, phone pressed to her ear. "But what about that whole stole your voice then turned into a human and love spelled Dad thing?"

"Well," Ariel said, "that sort of transmogrification spell requires sacrifice - a blood sacrifice ending in death if you want to make it permanent. I didn't want to kill anything so Aunt Ursula-"

_ "Aunt_?"

Ariel's sighed. "Yes, guppy, aunt. Ursula is your grandfather's younger sister. As I was _ saying _, transmogrification spells require sacrifice so I sacrificed my voice to become human for three days."

"And the love spell thing?"

"Aunt Ursula is protective. She wanted to make sure your father was my One."

"That makes no sense."

"I never said she was logical."

Something occurred to Melody. "If Ursula is Grandfather's sister, that would make her an Atlantican princess. What did she do to get banished?"

"Well..."

"_Mom_."

"It was just one _ small _ little coup with Morgana. But Ursula has repented, seen the light and made a switch, I promise."

Melody rubbed her face. "My brain hurts."

"Imagine how I felt when the scary Sea Witch found me - nine years old, lost, alone and crying - and was _ nice _ to me."

"Does Grandfather know?"

"Yes."

"Oh, so it was just me you didn't tell."

"Guppy, baby, I didn't mean to keep this from you. Not in the way you're thinking. But after everything with Morgana…"

Melody's insides twisted. The memory of Morgana still haunted her nightmares. She woke in a cold sweat more often than she would ever admit even now, three years later. It didn't matter that she was oceans away from where the hagfish lay encased in ice at the bottom of an Arctic trench. Morgana would always be in her mind, ashy face twisted in triumph, cackling madly, glowing golden trident held high.

"I didn't want to bring it up," Ariel whispered into the quiet.

Melody sighed. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah." Melody sat up. "What do you think about Ben's plan?"

"There's gonna be blowback. See if you can find out if Ursula has any kids."

"You don't know?"

"That barrier is kind of impenetrable. Otherwise I would have had Aunt Ursula deal with Morgana _ years _ago."

"Fair point. So, if she does have any kids?"

“Do what you can to befriend them when the opportunity presents itself.”

“Why?”

“Firstly, because they will be _family_.”

Melody flinched. “Right.”

“And secondly, connections between the Isle and Auradon are the kind of reminders people will need to do the right thing.”


	2. Chapter 2

Melody chose to deal with the whole Villain Kids situation by avoiding it altogether.

It wasn't hard. It was her second year at Auradon Prep and she still hadn't made any real friends but she liked it that way. After a fairly isolated childhood in which her best friend was a talking crab who acted more like a disapproving uncle, Melody wasn't quite comfortable interacting with humans her own age. 

Her mom made avoiding the drama easier by sending a gift with the next high tide.

Melody signed  _ thank you _ to Gabriella from the shallows, holding the bag the merwoman had brought. 

Gabriella signed _ you're welcome _ back before diving beneath the waves. Ollie the octopus waved a tentacle as he followed her, leaving Melody to wade back to land alone.

She plopped onto the beach, letting her toes dig into the sand as she pulled open the faded purple satchel. Inside was a book three inches thick, homemade by the looks of it, with irregularly cut pages of some sort of not-parchment, and bound in gray leather with brass bands on the spine. She recognized her mother's handwriting on the letter tucked between the cover and the first page.

_ Dear Melody, _

_ This is my grimoire, the book of spells and potions I learned as a teenager. Aunt Ursula had me make it as part of my education. Now that you know everything, it's time for me to pass this on to you. I don't know if you will be able to work magic but potions are always useful and knowledge is power.  _

_ If you can do magic, tell me  _ _ immediately _ _ . Magic is dangerous and needs to be handled with care. Please be careful and tell me  _ _ everything _ _ . I love you.  _

_ Try to make friends. I know being a fish out of water is difficult but I have every faith you're going to have a wonderful year. I know you'll study hard and get good grades and graduate with honors but there are more important things than school. Make friends. Have fun. That's why you wanted to go to Auradon Prep, remember?  _

_ Your father misses you and we will see you at Family Day. We love you! _

_ Love, Mom _

Melody rolled her eyes at her mother's nagging. Making friends wasn't high on her list of priorities. She was the weird fifteen-year-old senior who was homeschooled until last year. She was a whole three years younger than her classmates and the kids who were her age mostly wanted to use her as a tutor, not a friend. 

Sure, almost everyone was really nice, but they weren't interested in the socially awkward, homeschooled girl and Melody grew tired of explaining who she was to people who'd all known each other since diaperhood.

Instead, she spent a lot of time reading and exploring Auradon's coastline. There were thriving coral reefs just offshore, full of friendly, multicolored fish, several pods of dolphins, eels, octopi, and quite a few of the gentler shark species. Melody had friends aplenty beneath the waves. What did she need two-leggers for?

Apparently, she needed two-leggers for class projects.

She blinked at Ms. Merriweather, unsure if she heard right. The short, blue-clothed fairy was moving between the row of desks, still pairing students off for the literature assignment. In the desk beside her, Evie turned, blue hair swinging in a sheet like water.

“So,” the older girl said, flashing a red-lipped smile, “we have to prepare a scene from the book?”

Melody jumped. “Oh, um, yeah, I guess? I was thinking we could do one of the less dramatic scenes? Everyone else is gonna do the big fight scene where they argue and yell at each other or the romantic scene with all the emotion and stuff but I think there’s a lot happening in that scene between the sisters? You know, the one where they’re talking about their circumstances and stuff? And that way neither of us has to play a guy and we can focus on the woman’s narrative which I think gets overlooked a lot but, uh,” Melody swallowed, finally taking a breath, “that was just...my idea?”

“Well, I think that is just a great idea,” Evie said, beaming. It occured to Melody that she had a very pleasant alto voice. The bell rang and Evie began to gather her things. “How about,” she said, standing, “we meet later to practice and work on our presentation, yeah?”

Melody scrambled to her feet. “Y-yeah, That sounds great. I can come find you or you can come find me or maybe we can meet in the library after class or-”

“Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll see you in the library at 4:30.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll...see...you...there...” Melody watched as Evie sashayed from the classroom, blue hair swishing. 

She gathered her things slowly, letting the other students rush out before she headed into the bustling hall for her next class. She stopped at her locker to get her organic chemistry textbook but a pair of boys blocked her path. One was tall with long black hair and the other was shorter with black hair that bleached to white. She recognized them and anxiety welled in her gut. 

Carlos and Jay.

By all accounts they were perfectly nice guys. A little rough but nice. Jay was the fast-rising star of the Tourney team and Carlos had adopted Dude, the school stray. So, nice. 

Still.

Melody didn’t know them, had never spoken to them. 

Her arms tightened protectively around the binder she held to her chest. “Umm, excuse me?”

Carlos turned, blinking wide brown eyes at her. He was cute, with more freckles than the sky had stars. Behind him, Jay straightened, peering over his shoulder. “Uh, can we help you?”

“You’re in front of my locker?”

“Oh,” Carlos scrambled to move, “sorry!”

Melody swallowed. “Thanks.” She turned all her attention to opening her locker, trying to pretend there weren’t two complete strangers peering down at her. 

_ Gods _ she hated talking to new people. New people  _ sucked _ . They sucked worse than that party when she was twelve.

“So,” a deep voice said and someone much taller than her leaned against the lockers next to her, “how you doing?”

Melody froze. Slowly, she pulled her head from her locker, turning her face to the right. Jay smiled down at her, dark eyes twinkling, mouth in a half smirk, arms folded over his chest and biceps bulging.

She swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. "I'm...alright?"

"I'm Jay."

"I know."

A single eyebrow rose. "Really now?"

Melody licked her lips. She could feel it bubbling up in her chest, rising in her throat. "Yeah. You're Jay from the Isle, son of Jafar. And you're the new Tourney star. That's really cool. It's good that you're adjusting so well, you know? Cause, like, the Isle. That must have been tough and then coming here where things are completely different and I hear you're really nice. Not that you can't be nice and from the Isle cause you are nice and you are from the Isle but that's not why - I'm sorry I'm babbling. It's a bad habit. I'm working on it. This is why people don't usually talk to me so I'm shutting up now, sorry."

Word vomit. Bad habit. Horrible habit.  _ Embarrassing  _ habit.

Melody shut her mouth with a click, eyes closing with the pain of embarrassment. It didn't matter who she was talking to or what she was talking about, she would inevitably word vomit all over the conversation and that was it. Goodbye person. They'd never talk to her again. Even the teachers; they never called on her in class anymore. 

Jay blinked down at her.

Melody slammed her locker shut with a quick, "Nice to meet you!" Before ducking her head and scurrying away, completely forgetting about her textbook until she finally reached the science and math wing. She sighed. It wasn't like the textbook was strictly necessary. She was doing independent study for the current unit since she's learned the intro stuff when she was, like, ten, but it was still nice to have the textbook. Textbooks were good security blankets.

*~*~*

Jay watched the pretty girl with the black hair and turquoise eyes disappear into the mass of students. “Who was that?”

Carlos shrugged. “No idea. Come on, we’ve got Fairy Godmother’s Remedial Goodness class.”


	3. Chapter 3

Melody burst from the water, head flipping back, black hair arcing. She took a deep breath of cool, clean ocean air, replacing the water in her lungs. Her coral tail swished beneath her, keeping her head and shoulders above the water. The sun was high in the sky and she smiled. 

_ Mom and Dad will be here soon. _

A dark dot on the horizon caught her eye. Melody waited, bobbing in the surf, as the triple deck schooner came closer, the wind filling the two great sails, a carved mermaid smiling on the prow. 

A redheaded woman darted to the railing, waving wildly.

Melody cheered, swimming to the ship. 

“What are you doing out here?” Ariel laughed, leaning over the side.

“Waiting for you!” Melody called back.

A blackhaired man appeared behind her, peering over her shoulder. “Melody!” he cried.

“Hi Dad!”

“Here,” Eric tossed a rope ladder over the ship side. It clattered against the wood and Melody caught it, pulling herself halfway out of the water.

“Are you - do you have a tail right now?” he asked.

“Well, yeah,” Melody laughed, “how else am I going to go swimming?”

Eric sighed. “Three years and I’m still not used to it,” he muttered.

“You married a mermaid, Dad.”

“Come on,” Ariel laughed, “it’s human legs time.” 

Melody grinned. “Right.”

It was a simple trick of magic, requiring only desire and will. Grandfather talked her through it the first time when she was twelve but apparently being able to switch back and forth between a tail and legs was something she could do without a spell. A byproduct of her half-human, half-mermaid blood, he told her.

Melody felt her tail seperate with a rippling, static sensation, like when she sat on her legs for too long, and then she was kicking her feet, wearing the coral board shorts she dived in with. As she pulled herself over the ship’s side, Ariel reached out and helped.

Her feet hit the deck and a great beast collided with her knees. She went down in a heap of fur and slobbering tongue. “Max!” she cried and buried her face in the great sheepdog’s fur.

“He begged to come,” Eric said from somewhere above her. “You should have heard him crying.”

“Aww,” Melody cooed, fingers finding that special place behind Max’s ear that turned the big goof to goo, “did the poor baby miss me?”

“Like crazy.”

“Your highness,” a tall, lanky man, gray hair pulled back into a posh ponytail, stumbled across the deck, pale face decidedly green, “it’s-” he gagged, cheeks puffing out, mouth pressed firmly together. 

Melody laughed. “Don’t try to talk, Mr. Grimsby. You’ll throw up.”

Grimsby swallowed. “It’s wonderful to see you,” he managed to get out, but then he jerked, racing for the railing.

Melody winced, turning away and trying to ignore the retching sounds coming from her father’s Lord Chamberlain. 

Ariel looked down at her daughter, green eyes assessing, taking in the boardshorts and cream colored halter top. “I assume you’re not wearing that to Family Day?”

Melody flushed. “No. I’ve got clothes back in my room.”

“And you’ll change into them once we dock?”

“_Mom_.”

“Don’t _ Mom _ me. The festivities start in an hour and it will take thirty minutes to dock. I don’t want to be late this time.”

“Since when are you so concerned with punctuality?" Eric teased.

Ariel rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Carlotta," she called, "do you have a towel for the fish out of water?"

The motherly housekeeper appeared, seemingly from nowhere, holding a plush purple towel. Ariel took it, tossing it over Melody's shoulders.

"Thanks, Mrs. Carlotta." 

"Of course dear. How is school going?"

"It's alright. You should have seen the Sherwood game."

"Really?” Mrs. Carlotta asked, smiling like an indulgent grandmother. “What happened?"

Melody grinned. "Prince Ben started singing! It was ridiculous. He was singing to the daughter of Maleficent. They've been dating for a couple weeks-"

"I thought he was dating Princess Audrey?" Ariel asked, pulling Melody to her feet.

"He _ was_," Melody gushed, "but he dumped her for Mal. And Evie - she’s the daughter of the Evil Queen; you know, Snow White’s stepmother - is dating Doug. At least, I think she's dating Doug. They've been spending an awful lot of time together if they're not dating. Oh, and Mal's been doing magic-"

"How are your magic studies coming?" Ariel interrupted.

Melody's shoulders slumped. "Not even a spark," she sighed. "I don't think I have any magic like yours."

“Wait,” Eric said, “you’ve been learning magic?”

“Uh, yeah? Mom sent me her spellbook.”

“Grimoire,” Ariel corrected absently, turning to husband. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“No,” Eric drawled, raising a single black eyebrow, “you did not. Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, it’s magic.”

“It’s just some spells and potions my aunt taught me. I thought it would be good for her, get her back to her roots.”

“But still…”

“I thought you got over that whole love spell thing.”

“Don’t forget the giant sea monster thing,” Melody added with an unrepentant grin.

“Not helping,” Eric and Ariel chorused, eyeing each other. 

“Come along, dear,” Mrs. Carlotta said. She ushered Melody across the deck, leaving her parents to size each other up. Melody let her, still grinning. Her parents would have it worked out by the time they docked. Well, to be more accurate, Ariel would talk Eric around by the time they docked.

*~*~*

Melody left her parents at the docks, running barefoot across campus for the dorms. She slid around a corner and collided with a wall. She grunted, the wind knocked out of her as she crashed to the floor.

“Ow,” said a pleasant baritone voice from somewhere above her.

Melody blinked up and the tan face of Jay peered down at her. “You’re not a wall.”

His dark brown eyes brightened when he recognized her and he reached out a hand. “Here.”

Melody took it, flushing bright pink. “Sorry,” she said, allowing him to haul her to her feet. “I was going back to the dorm and I wasn’t looking where I was going-”

“Hey, no worries.” He looked her over, reaching out to tweak the end of her still-damp hair as he took in her bare feet, board shorts and loose, off-white halter top. “You, uh, go for a swim?”

“Oh,” Melody rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous giggle, “Yeah. My parents came in by ship for Family Day so I swam out to meet them.” She grinned. “They even brought Max, our dog. He’s the biggest goof and I _ miss _ him, you know? This is only my second year here and it’s hard being away from my family but you know about that, right? I mean, being away from your family? I heard Fairy Godmother set up a mirror call for you? That’s really cool, that you get to see your family on Family Day - sorry I’m babbling again.”

Jay grinned and Melody was struck by how handsome he was when he smiled, his white teeth against his dark skin, black hair held half up in a braid, the red and black leather, the broad, muscled shoulders. Her gut flipped and she almost groaned. She did _ not _ need a crush on anyone right now.

“No worries,” he said. “I, uh” - _ damn, _ that half smile was back - “I kinda like when you babble. But, you know, you haven’t actually told me your name yet.”

Melody blinked. “Oh, right. Sorry. My name is Melody - Princess Melody, daughter of King Eric and Queen Ariel.”

“You’re the Little Mermaid’s daughter!” Jay’s whole face brightened. “I’ve heard about your mom from Ursula and Uma.”

Melody’s heart skipped. “You know Ursula?”

“Yeah, she owns a fish and chips shop down on the wharf.” Jay jerked a thumb over his shoulder, then flushed and ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, on the Isle, ya know? I wouldn’t eat anything there, though. Not unless you know what you’re doing.”

“And who’s Uma?”

Jay blinked at her. “You don’t know Uma? She’s Ursula’s daughter.”

“Ursula’s...daughter?”

“Yeah. She calls herself a captain but that ship ain’t nothin’. Can’t even sail anymore. She and Mal were always getting into it, back on the Isle, but she ain’t bad. I mean, she’s got an attitude and I’m not sure she’d like you all that much but she really does have the Isle’s best interest at heart, you know? That was the only thing she and Mal could agree on -” Jay stopped and bit his lip. “Now you’ve got me babbling, too.”

Melody giggled but her attention was entirely on the idea of Uma, rather than the very cute boy in front of her. “It’s contagious.” A loud bell chimed from the school’s clocktower and she jumped. “Sorry! I gotta go! See you later!”

She darted around Jay, racing for the dorms.

She missed out on the big musical number to greet the parents, but skidded onto the lawn, appropriately dressed in a coral sundress and white sandals that criss crossed up her calves, in time to watch Queen Belle faint. She snorted and wound her way through the crowd to her parents.

Ariel was tapping her foot impatiently. “Where is she?”

“Here!” Melody popped up on her side with a wide grin.

“You said you wouldn’t be late!”

Melody rolled her eyes. “So I missed a musical number I wasn't part of anyway. You _ know _ I can’t sing, Mom. Besides, I got held up on my way to my room.”

Eric smirked. “Held up?”

Melody blushed and changed tactics with a quick glance around to make sure no one was in earshot. “Mom, Ursula has a daughter.”

Ariel physically jerked in shock. “She what?!”

*~*~*

The coronation was in full swing. People lined the streets, cheering and waving blue and gold pennants. Trumpets blared and the paparazzi flashed their cameras. Snow White smiled at her as she stood beside her parents but the Queen-turned-media-mogul didn’t ask her any questions; she’d learned that lesson long ago.

Eric gently pulled her hand through his arm, Ariel on his other side. Melody pasted on her best princess smile, the one that crinkled the corners of her eyes but didn’t show teeth, and followed his direction through the press gauntlet. 

Once they were safely inside the grand cathedral, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Whew. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

Melody smiled up at him, a real one this time with teeth. “It’s why you don’t leave home often, right?” 

“Exactly. Come on, let’s go find our seats.”

When Melody dressed for Prince Ben’s coronation she thought it would be a nice, sit-down affair. She was grateful corsets were long out of fashion because they never looked all that comfortable and her lovely peach gown would not have improved by one at all. Still, it was a full length, shimmering chiffon creation that she loved but couldn't really move in. She chose the dress because she thought the coronation would be a lot of sitting down, maybe standing up, and cheering after Ben finally took the Oath of Royals. 

The coronation was supposed to be _ boring_.

The coronation was _ not _ supposed to have _ Jane _ of all people grabbing Fairy Godmother’s wand and having magic sparking all over the place. And it most _ definitely _ was not supposed to have a _ frigging dragon _crashing through the doors or Maleficent herself trying to take over the world.

Melody did not dress for that much strenuous activity. 

Green glimmered across Ariel’s hands and Eric gripped his flimsy ceremonial sword. But Mal had the wand and before Melody could think to do anything Maleficent was a tiny lizard and the crowd was cheering.

“What the heck was that?” Eric muttered. 

“Mal was scheming to take over but had a change of heart?” Melody guessed.

Ariel let out a deep breath. “I am _ so _ glad I didn’t go to this school.”

Melody narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Gee thanks.”

“I still feel like we missed something,” Eric grumbled.

“You did,” Ariel assured with a mysterious smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Ariel refused to explain what Eric and Melody missed. Instead, she ushered her family into the Royal Procession. It was lead by the newly crowned King Ben with Mal on his arm. King Adam, better known as Beast, and Queen Belle were right behind them. Queen Aurora and her daughter, Princess Audrey, followed. Then, Queen Snow White and her King, whose name Melody could never remember, and so on down the line the royal families walked in the order they joined Auradon. 

It was the only fair way, Melody knew. Every royal in the Procession held equal rank, even King Adam, whom the rulers chose to lead and mediate their confederacy. The idea of one Royal in front of another meaning they were of greater importance was ludicrous. Besides, Melody took a vague sort of pride in being towards the back of the line with the Agrabah and Chinese contingents. 

They were some of the last to join Auradon, having expressed strong disapproval regarding the Isle and the blanket ban on magic. As far as Melody was aware, magic was an open secret in their kingdoms and there wasn't a thing Fairy Godmother or Beast could do about it, Auradon being more of a loose confederacy than a traditional, or even constitutional, monarchy.

Jordan shot her a smile as Melody took her place behind her parents. Melody smiled back. Jordan, daughter of the Genie, was the Auradon kid Melody was closest to, if she could claim to be close to any of them. They shared a lot of their classes and sat next to each other in Chemistry. 

The trumpets blared and the great double doors of the Coronation Hall swung open. Melody straightened her shoulders and pasted on her best Princess Smile.

Cheers erupted from the crowds as King Ben stepped into sight. News crews pressed forward, microphones in hand, shouting questions at the new King and his girlfriend. Questions mostly revolving around the surprise dragon.

Queen Aurora sidestepped the media circus and the rest of the Royal Procession followed, making their way to the carriages that would take them back to the palace so they could prepare for the Coronation Ball.

Grimsby waited for them in her family's carriage, sitting backwards so she and her parents could sit on the bench shaped like a great shell.

"Now that that's over and done with," he said once Melody and her parents were settled in the carriage, "we must go over the schedule for tonight."

The carriage lurched forward, the driver guiding the horses down the cobblestone street. Melody sat back, listening idly as Grimsby went over the evening's events for what must have been the thousandth time. He acted like they'd never gone to a ball before. Melody knew royal protocol by heart. First, the introductions, with Lumier acting as herald. Then the opening dance with whichever royal was being honored. This time it was Ben and he'd obviously dance with Mal. Dinner would be served restaurant style, orders placed with the waitstaff and guests free to come and go from their tables as they pleased. Dancing was inevitable and the whole affair would end with fireworks at midnight.

For her part, Melody intended to stay close to her parents. Her dancing was much improved from the disaster of her twelfth birthday and she even quite enjoyed it, but the only person she was comfortable dancing with in this crowd was Chad Charming and he'd...changed, somehow. He'd always been a bit pompous, even when they were children, but after hitting high school all he seemed to care about was royal pedigree, fancy clothes, and shiny jewels. These days he was a far cry from the nice boy who swam in the ocean after she brought down the Sea Wall.

Melody followed her parents to their suite in the Royal Wing where Ariel produced a beautiful, blue, sea silk dress, loose and flowing like ocean waves. Mrs. Carlotta helped Melody into the dress behind a screen while Ariel had her hair fixed and Eric disappeared into the bathroom.

"Is Grandpa coming to the ball?" asked Melody as she stepped around the screen, straightening her skirt.

Ariel glanced at her in the mirror. "No, but he is sending your Aunt Attina and cousin Mako."

Melody perked up. Mako was her favorite cousin. Ten years her senior, good and kind and funnier than a clown fish, he always made Melody feel infinitely less like a fish out of water. "Really?"

Ariel smiled. "Yes. Atlantica might not be part of Auradon but they are allies. Your grandfather wanted to put his best foot forward. Now come here and let Mrs. Carlotta fix your hair."

Melody took Ariel's seat in front of the mirror and Mrs. Carlotta began to fix her long hair into a thick, loose braid with curling strands framing her face, as if she had just come from the beach. Then, she nestled a small diadem amongst the black curls. The diadem was made of diamonds set in silver, reaching up like a kelp forest caught in the current, pink pearls and blue seed pearls scattered amongst the fronds. It wasn't the flashiest headwear but it was Melody's favorite.

"Oh Mamma," Melody breathed, staring at her reflection.

Ariel smiled down at her. "I thought you'd like that. Here," she held out a pair of pink pearl earrings, "to match."

Melody beamed, quicky fixing them in her ears.

"Oh, don't you two just look pretty as a picture," Mrs. Carlotta sighed happily.

Someone knocked and Eric poked his head through the bathroom door. "Are you two ready yet?"

Ariel laughed. “Yes, dear.”

Eric checked his watch. “Only ten minutes late this time,” he teased.

“Da-ad.”

“Come on,” Eric led them through the castle, Ariel on one arm, Melody on the other.

There was a queue outside the great double doors to the Great Hall. Melody smoothed her skirts, surreptitiously wiping away her nervous sweat. 

Ariel smiled down at her. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”

Melody nodded, smile tight and insides writhing. Thankfully, she managed to make it down the grand staircase without tripping and when she reached the bottom, a tall, heavily muscled man stepped forward, hand extended.

“Mako!”

Prince Mako of Atlantica, son of Princess Attina and second in line for Triton’s throne, smiled down at her, curly brown hair draping gracefully across his forehead. Even dressed in his formal soldier’s uniform of purple sea silk, it was strange to see him with legs rather than with his usual dark blue tail, but he seemed steady and sure as he returned her tight embrace.

“Good to see you, urchin,” he said, using her family nickname. Pulling back, he tugged gently at her braid. “You’re looking good.”

Melody beamed. “How’s the ocean?”

Mako’s mouth twitched. “Not bad, cod do better.”

Melody’s smile grew. This,  _ this _ was why Mako was her favorite. “Don’t play koi with me.”

“I didn’t do it on porpoise.”

“You’re kraken me up.”

“You two need to clam down,” Eric said.

Melody looked at her dad. She hadn’t seen him and her mother approach her and Mako in their corner behind the grand staircase. Ariel didn’t look pleased with her husband and daughter but amusement sparked in her blue-green eyes. She gave all three of them a Look. “Behave.”

“Water you mean?” Melody asked her mother, blinking up at her innocently.

“You know,” a new voice said; Melody turned to smile at a statuesque woman in red sea silk, wearing a spiked red crown in her chestnut curls. “This is getting out of sand,” the woman finished with a wicked grin, sea blue eyes sparkling as she met Ariel’s gaze.

Ariel’s eyes narrowed at her sister. “Thanks for the help, Attina.”

“At your surf-ice,” Attina chirped happily.

Mako smiled at his mother then turned to Melody. “Shell we dance?”

Melody giggled, taking his offered hand and allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor. The orchestra was playing a lilting waltz and Melody felt light and gentle as she floated across the floor. It was almost like when she swam through the water, graceful and strong.

Being around Mako was like that, she thought with a happy smile. Mako and all of her other cousins and her parents, her aunts and her uncles. There was nothing like being around family. It was something she was missing, here in Auradon, and she felt the tension release from her shoulders with every spin and twirl.

Mako stopped suddenly, releasing her and turning. Jay stood behind him, smiling, wearing a dark red leather waistcoat over a black long sleeve silk shirt and black leather pants. Orange-gold fingerless gloves covered his hands and bronze chains decorated his clothes. Jay bowed to Mako, not mocking but not truly deferential either. “Mind if I cut in?” he asked with a white toothed grin.

Mako glanced at Melody, eyebrow raised in silent question. Melody licked her lips, butterflies rioting in her stomach, but nodded at her cousin. Mako smiled and squeezed her hand, bowing to kiss her cheek. She took a deep breath, letting his comforting scent of salt air and ocean rain fill her lungs for a moment. 

Mako placed her hand in Jay’s and stepped away. Melody squared her shoulders and smiled nervously at Jay, settling her other hand on his shoulder. “Hi.”

Jay grinned at her, free hand going to her waist. “Hi.” He guided her in a tentative spin that was mostly smooth as the orchestra started another waltz. 

Melody followed him easily, silently thankful for Grimsby’s insistence on her overly traditional Princess’s education. 

“I like the dress,” Jay said. 

Melody flushed. “Thanks. My parents brought it for me. It’s sea silk. There’s a whole guild of merfolk who make sea silk. It’s made from pen shells and its really soft. I-” Melody cut herself off. “Sorry,” she said, looking away from Jay’s warm brown eyes.

Jay guided her in another spin. “Don’t apologize. I like hearing you talk.”

Melody flushed, eyes glancing up from somewhere over his shoulder to his face. His cheeks were red, visible even on his dark face, but he unabashedly met her gaze. She smiled at him, something soft and warm blooming in her chest. 

The music stopped and Jay stopped, staring down at her on the edge of the dancefloor. Tension hung between them, tight as a bowstring. Melody stared up at him. He leaned closer. Her heart thudded in her throat. She licked her lips. Jay glanced down, looked back up at her.

“Hey, Mels,” Mako appeared at her side.

Melody jumped away like a scalded cat, face heating up like a flame. She spun to Mako. “W-what?” she stammered, suddenly shaking. 

Mako looked at her, eyes serious. “Aunt Ariel is looking for you,” he said. 

“R-right.” Melody glanced between Mako and Jay. She hesitated only a moment before turning to Jay and curtseying, fanning out her sea silk skirts in a graceful motion she had practiced in front of the mirror for hours on end when she was younger.

Mako watched Jay watch Melody hurry off to find her mother. Finally, after Melody had disappeared into the crowd and Jay still hadn’t turned away from where she’d gone, he said, "That's my baby cousin you're staring at."

Jay jumped. "I didn't--I wasn't-"

"It's fine,” Mako reassured him, stuffing his hands into his pocket. “Melody is great and deserves nothing but the best. Just remember," the much taller man turned and Jay saw for the first time what looked like scars from a very big something with very sharp teeth radiating across his face, "you hurt her and I'll feed you to a shark."

Jay swallowed hard.


	5. Chapter 5

Melody breathed in the scent of salt and brine. Far below, waves crashed relentlessly into the unyielding clifface. Green grass cushioned her feet and she bounced lightly, relishing the sense of freedom and wildness, the first tingling of adrenaline thrumming through her veins in anticipation. 

She took another deep breath, let it out slowly, and launched herself from the cliff. 

The wind whistled in her ears and stung her eyes. As she plummeted she brought her arms forward, stretching them out ahead of her. She felt the moment her fingertips breached the water. It was the work of a mere thought and her legs became a tail as she crashed below the waves.

A school of colorful bluestripe snapper flitted away from her breach, calling insults at her sudden intrusion. Melody giggled at them, flipping her fin. The coral reef stretched for miles below her as she swam deeper. 

A colorful conch caught her eye and she reached for it. A hermit crab's claw darted out, snapping at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Melody jerked back. "Sorry! Your shell is so lovely I hoped it was empty."

A large, dark red crab glared at her from the safety of his shell. "Obviously it's not."

"I really am sorry."

The crab's beady eyes narrowed. "If you're so sorry then go away."

"Of course.” Melody turned, swimming away with a powerful stroke of her tail. “Sorry again!" she called over her shoulder. 

The coral reef gave way to rocky outcroppings and the deep blue ocean stretched out before her, as far as the eye could see. A shadow passed overhead and Melody frowned, looking up. 

This far below the surface, the boat wasn't much bigger than her thumbnail but that it was there at all was strange. Boats and ships didn't travel this portion of Auradon's coast. It was too easy for a storm to spring up and bash them against the rocky cliffs. It was why Melody preferred swimming along this section of the coral reefs: no one else was around.

Melody started up, rising through the water, squinting as the light grew brighter until she broke the surface, breathing in lungfuls of air and blinking in the noonday sun.

The boat wasn't much more than a dinghy, barely big enough for two people. At the oars sat a pretty blonde girl in a red coat and loose white shirt. She was muttering to herself and as Melody swam closer she caught "VKs" and "stupid Auradon" and "pillage and plunder". 

Melody popped up over the side of the boat at the girl's elbow. "Um, excuse me?"

The girl shrieked. The dinghy rocked dangerously as she scrambled to turn on her seat. "Who the bloody hell are you?" She demanded, oar raised like a spear pointed at Melody's head.

Melody pulled back, putting enough distance between herself and the dinghy as to not be wacked on the head. She didn't think the strange girl would actually hit her but it was better safe than sorry. "I'm Melody, daughter of Queen Ariel and King Eric. Who are you?"

The girl straightened her shoulders, chin lifting in pride. "I'm CJ, daughter of Captain Hook, and I am the greatest pirate the ocean has ever seen."

Melody blinked. "Nice...pirate ship?"

CJ scowled. "This is only temporary," she snapped.

"Right, of course," Melody quickly agreed with a nervous laugh. Then, she frowned, remembering something she'd overheard at breakfast. "Hey, aren't you that girl who crashed the Neon Lights Ball?"

CJ puffed out her chest. "Of course! Did you enjoy my handiwork?"

"I didn't get to see it, but I heard about it. Did you really steal Jane's mascot costume?"

"Why, of course! And jacking that flying carpet was pathetically easy!" CJ looked down at her, head cocked to the side. Something flashed behind her blue eyes. "Why weren't you at the ball? I thought it was a big party? You completely missed my epic entrance."

Melody flushed. "Oh, I, uh, I didn't have anyone to go with."

"No handsome prince asked you? Pathetic. Just go with your friends! All you Auradon kids have sooo many friends."

Embarrassment twisted in Melody's gut and she wished for a swell to push her beneath the water, even considered diving back under just to avoid this conversation. "I don't really...have any friends."

CJ blinked at her. "No, that doesn't sound right. Everyone in Auradon is all sugar sweetness and soft.  _ Friendship _ is, like, your thing."

The air quotes around "Friendship" made Melody sink lower in the water, the heat in her cheeks spreading down her neck. "Yeah, everyone's really nice and everything," she muttered to the rippling waves, "but being nice isn't the same as being friends."

"It's not?"

“Nice is not going out of your way to be mean and mess with someone. Friends is going out of your way to help and be there for the people you care about.”

“So...friends are like your crew? The people you choose to hang out with, united by the common goal to pillage and plunder?”

“Pillage and plunder, really?”

“I’m a pirate,” CJ protested. “That’s what we  _ do _ !”

“Pirates are sailors who want to take something that doesn’t belong to them,” Melody snapped. She was the princess of an ocean kingdom and the granddaughter of the Sea King. She had Opinions about pirates. There were stories in her Kingdom’s lore of robbers and murderers on the high seas and those didn’t even begin to cover Atlantica’s dealings with the rogues. “What drives you?” she challenged CJ. “Sailing or stealing?”

CJ blinked down at her. “What does it matter?”

“It matters because it’ll tell me if I should turn you in or let you go.”

CJ laughed. “Ha! You, turn me in? You’re just a little girl. What can you do to me?”

Irritation flooded Melody’s veins. “I am a mermaid,” she said, voice like steel, “and you are a human. All I have to do is overturn your  _ pirate ship _ and you’ll drown if I choose not to save you.”

The color drained from CJ’s face. “But...you’re an Auradon kid. You can’t just let me drown. You won’t hurt me.”

Satisfaction flashed through Melody. “I am the granddaughter of the Sea King,” she informed the other girl, “and the sea is not a safe place for a human to be.”

“I am the daughter of Captain Hook,” CJ said. “The sea is where I belong.”

Melody stared at the older girl, letting the feel of the ocean’s magic swirl around her. It was life force, a song always at the edge of hearing, calling to her, though she could not use its power. Perhaps this was what drew the sailor girl to the middle of the ocean, miles from land and where no other ships sailed. 

“Do you hear it?” Melody asked, voice soft and lilting. “Do you hear the sea’s song?”

CJ blinked at her. Suddenly, the tension released from her, the fight seeming to leave her. She sat heavily on the dinghy’s bench. “Yes,” she breathed, staring at Melody. “Yes, I’ve heard it all my life!”

Melody grinned. “Any who hear the sea’s song are welcome, but must do no harm.”

CJ smiled, sticking out her hand. “Deal!”

Melody shook it, pumping her tail to raise her torso from the water. “Deal.”

CJ sat back on the dinghy’s bench seat, smiling cheerfully. Melody watched her, not really knowing what to say. The silence was stretching into uncomfortable when CJ shifted in her seat. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I’m off to sail the seven seas!” And she stuck the oars back into the water, starting to row away.

“Hey,” Melody swam after her, “wait a second! You don’t have any supplies!”

“Don’t worry!” CJ called, waving and paddling faster than Melody could swim. “I’ll be fiiiiiine!”

Melody stopped swimming, staring after the dinghy, bemused. That was one crazy sailor girl. With a sigh, she turned around, swimming for shore. The coral reef passed below her in a blur until it turned to sandy bottom. When it became shallow enough for her to stand she traded her tail for legs and stood.

A lone figure stood on the shore and Melody squinted against the sun’s glare on the water.

“Hey,” Jay called, coming towards the water.

Melody smiled. “Hey! What are you doing down here?”

“I saw you jump. Scared me for a minute.”

Melody blushed. “I just went for a swim.”

Jay smiled, stepping a little closer. “I missed you at the Neon Lights Ball.”

“Oh. " Melody but her lip. "I, ah, didn't go."

"Yeah, I know. I looked for you."

Butterflies spiraled in her stomach. "Yeah?"

Jay rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking sheepish. "Yeah."

"You know," Melody said with a sudden burst of uncharacteristic boldness, sea glass eyes glimmering, "maybe next time we could go together, to the next dance, I mean."

Jay laughed. "I'd like that."

Melody beamed. "Good."


	6. Chapter 6

Melody attempted to shove her Calculus textbook into her faded purple satchel but it was blocked by something else already in her bag. She pulled it out again and stuck her hand inside, fingers closing on the leather spine of her mother’s grimoire. She adjusted it then stuck her textbook next to it.

Textbooks and notebooks in place, she slung her mother’s old bag over her shoulders and left her dorm room, jogging down the hall and hoping she wasn’t too late. At the very least it wasn’t her fault. Okay, maybe it was but she’d fallen asleep doing homework the night before and forgotten to charge her phone. 

The warning bell rang as she trotted down the mostly empty Electives hall. “Oh, jellyfish,” she hissed. 

“Best get to class, Ms. Ericsdottir,” Fairy Godmother called. 

“Yes, Fairy Godmother.” 

She slipped into her seat just as the tardy bell rang and Mr. Genie turned to his class of Magical History, year four.

As Mr. Genie began his lesson Melody settled in for another day of class. Next came her Calculus class with Mr. Johnson, then Language Arts with Ms. Merriweather, and Chemistry with Mr. Deley. After lunch Melody had two periods of study hall so she moved to the Library where she poured over her mother’s grimoire, memorizing potions recipes and spells, careful to keep the book out of sight.

She was in the middle of memorizing a potion to grow hair when something thumped onto her study table. Melody jumped, blinking up at Jay as he sat on the chair opposite her.

“Hey,” he said with a cheerful smile. 

Melody smiled back, butterflies rioting in her stomach. “Hi.”

“How’s it going?”

“Alright. How are you?’ Melody almost beamed. No word vomit!

“I’m doin’ good. What’re you doin?”

“Oh,” Melody glanced down at her mother’s grimoire, “reading.”

“Looks like an interesting book.”

Melody licked her lips nervously. “It is.”

Jay leaned closer, peering at the grimoire. “What is it?”

Melody fiddled with a page. “It’s, uh, a family heirloom.” 

“Cool, cool,” Jay leaned back, seemingly satisfied with her non-answer about the book. "So, hey have you heard about the Cotillion thing?”

Melody swallowed hard. “Yeah?”

“And do you remember what we talked about after the Neon Lights Ball?”

Heat crawled up Melody’s face. She remembered clearly that conversation on the beach and excitement thudded through her heart. “Yeah?”

Jay’s black eyes flickered nervously before meeting her gaze. “I was wondering…”

“Yeah?”

Jay rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. “Would you, uh, like to go with me?”

Melody beamed, ignoring the way her face felt like fire. “Yes.”

Jay grinned, white teeth flashing against his dark skin. “Great!” He shifted in his chair then grabbed the strap of his black backpack. “Well, I don’t wanna bother you -”

“You’re not bothering me,” Melody said quickly. “If you want to stay, we can do...homework together?”

Jay’s grin grew. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Melody waited until after the final bell before racing to the dorm room across from hers. It belonged to Lonnie and she banged on the wooden door.

Lonnie opened the door with a frown. “Melody? What’s wrong?”

Melody shook her head. She and Lonnie didn’t talk often, mostly when Lonnie needed help with her math homework, but they were friendly enough. Still, Lonnie was not the girl Melody needed. “Is Jordan in her lamp?”

Lonnie stepped aside. “Yeah I think so. Go ahead and rub it.”

“Thanks!” Melody darted to Lonnie's windowsill where a gold oil lamp gleamed in the sun. She ran her fingers over the side and a moment later a plume of dark blue smoke rose from the lamp and a tall, slender girl appeared.

Jordan Djinn was one of the prettiest people Melody had ever met with golden skin and long black hair. She wore blue harem pants, a black top, and orange-gold jacket. She also wore a scowl. "Lonnie, what - oh," she blinked at Melody, "hey, Mel. What's up?"

Melody almost sighed in relief. "I need help!"

"What's wrong?"

"Jay asked me to Cotillion and I don't know what to do! I've never been to a school dance before and I don't even have a dress! Oh my god what am I supposed to wear? What if I embarrass myself? And he's so cute and charming and I'm a human disaster! I -"

"Whoa, Melody, breathe. Say that again, slowly. The first sentence."

Melody obediently gulped a breath and repeatedly slowly, "Jay asked me to Cotillion."

"Nice going Melody," Lonnie cheered behind her.

Melody jumped, having forgotten the Chinese girl was in the room. She blushed. "Thanks."

Lonnie plopped onto the bed near the window, smiling. "So," she said, "one of the hottest guys in school asked you to Cotillion. What's got you panicking?"

Melody scuffed her foot on the hardwood floor, blushing cherry red. "I don't have a dress and I've never been to a school dance before…"

Jordan frowned at her. "You've never been to a school dance before? But what about the Neon Lights Ball?"

Melody shook her head, shamefaced. "I didn't have any friends to go with."

"But we're friends," Lonnie protested. "I thought you were going with someone else or I would have invited you to come with us."

Melody stared at the older girl. "We're friends?"

"Of course we are," Jordan answered, "and as friends we are going to get you ready for Cotillion. Come on."

Jordan started for the door and Melody followed obediently, Lonnie behind her. "Where are we going?"

"To the best dressmaker at Auradon."

Melody glanced nervously over her shoulder at Lonnie but the taller girl just nodded encouragingly, looking gleeful.

The best dressmaker, as it happened, was Evie Queen who ran Evie's 4 Hearts out of her dorm room with Doug.

The daughter of the Evil Queen smiled when Jordan entered. "Hey guys."

Melody looked around curiously. Evie's and Mal's room was pretty standard, but fabric and accessories were strewn all around the right half of the room while the other side was relatively neat with a black lizard in a terrarium on one of the desks. Melody eyed the lizard warily. She remembered when Maleficent crashed King Ben's coronation. It was hard to imagine that tiny lizard was once a huge, terrifying, fire-breathing dragon.

"Hey Evie," Jordan answered. "We need your help."

Evie frowned. "What's wrong?"

Jordan turned to Melody standing behind her and Lonnie gently pushed Melody forward. "Jay just asked Melody to Cotillion and she doesn't have anything to wear. Can you help?"

Evie gasped. "No way!" She bounced from her desk chair, clapping her hands. "This is so exciting," she gushed. "We've been telling him for forever to ask you out already! He keeps talking about how pretty you are, especially your eyes, they're that lovely turquoise." Evie bounded forward, enveloping Melody in a tight hug. "Congratulations! Now," she pulled away, circling Melody, dark eyes studying her critically, "you're the daughter of the Little Mermaid so the obvious choice would be a blue dress…"

Melody blinked, stunned by Evie's enthusiasm. She never thought she'd ever find someone else who talked in run-on sentences like she did. Still, Evie was coherent enough for Melody to catch the blue dress idea. "Actually," Melody piped up, "blue isn't really my favorite color."

Evie blinked. "It isn't?"

Melody shook her head. "No."

"What is?"

"I really like reds and oranges and pinks, you know? I mean, I know the dress I wore to the Coronation Ball was ocean blue but the dress I wore to the actual coronation was this really pretty peachy-pink and a lot of my dresses are pink or gold-orange. Also, my tail is this really pretty coral color and a lot of my sundresses are red -"

"Your tail?"

Melody nodded. "Yeah. You know, when I turn into a mermaid?"

Evie nodded. "Oh. Of course."

"Aren't red and orange Jay's colors?" Lonnie asked too casually.

Evie nodded. "Yep."

Fear spiked through Melody's stomach. "Oh no. I don't want him to think -"

"It's okay," Evie promised with a gentle smile. "I've seen you wear those colors and you're right, they look good on you. Now, I'll have some sketches for you tomorrow to go over, okay? You're going to look beautiful."

Melody smiled, anxiety abating with the calm reassurance of Jordan, Lonnie and Evie. "Thank you."

Once a week, for the next three weeks, Melody was pulled into dress fittings inside Evie’s room as a sparkling, [shimmering coral creation](https://www.couturecandy.com/products/mac-duggal-prom-79290m-asymmetric-with-overskirt-long-dress?variant=31050595860563&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9D0BRCMARIsAIfvfIbbAGB56lU4ErQdJwfbaif596_SBdYgo-G8TUMMamm2MgWgm5vZHDgaAkUGEALw_wcB) grew beneath the blue haired girl’s skilled hands. When Evie finally delivered the dress on Cotillion day, it was a stunning sheath with a thin jeweled belt and tulle train, embroidery like the irregular arms of coral reefs and a one-shoulder, asymmetrical neckline. 

Melody gasped, enraptured. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

“Of course it is,” Evie answered with a tight smile that Melody didn’t notice.

The dress was soft over her skin, almost like sea silk, and Melody vowed that Evie would be making all of her fancy dresses from then on. The heels that came with it were a matching coral and gave Melody a few extra inches in height. 

She answered Jay’s knock with monkeys doing gymnastic routines in her stomach as the sun set. He was as handsome as ever in a red and gold leather waistcoat, his long dark hair held back in a topknot. 

He smiled when he saw her. “Hey.”

Melody bit her lip. “Hi.”

“Ready to go?”

Melody nodded nervously and closed the door behind her, looping her arm through Jay’s when he offered. 

“You look really beautiful,” he said as he led her from the dorms and joined the que of students waiting to be taken to the party yacht in the gleaming carriages. 

“Thanks. You look really beautiful too - I mean handsome - you look really handsome! I -”

“Nah,” Jay said with a grin, “I look really beautiful.”

Melody giggled. “Yes, the fairest in the land.”

“Don’t let Evie hear you say that. Hey,” Jay leaned toward her, black eyes on the carriages, “do you think those are pumpkins?”

Melody eyed the carriages. They were intricate and beautiful and had a distinct vine motif on the wheels. “Probably.” They moved to the front of the line and a carriage trundled up. “Our cherry-ot awaits.”

Jay beamed and sweeped an elegant bow. “Apple you my lady.”

Melody stifled a laugh. “You’re berry sweet,” she told him, stepping into the carriage, “but that was pear-able.”

Jay snorted, settling on the bench seat beside her. “How do you come up with those pear-able puns?”

The carriage lurched into motion and Melody smiled. “The first rule is you can’t repeat puns,” she informed him.

“Of course.” He gave her a sideways look and a half smile. “You’re a cutie.”

Melody tilted her head, blushing tomato red. “I guava soft spot for cuties which is why I lime you.”

“Oh man,” Jay laughed, wiping tears from his eyes, “I think you beet me.”

“I apple-aud your efforts,” she giggled, “but it’s not about winning. It’s about making people laugh.”

“Do you do this all the thyme?”

“Nice herb-age. And no, mostly with my cousins.”

“By Allah,” a voice cried behind them. “Would you two please stop?”

Melody turned in her seat. Aziz, son of Sultana Jasmine and her Prince-Consort Aladdin, rubbed his temples as if getting a migraine in the carriage behind them. Beside him, Opal, granddaughter of Mamma Odie, giggled into her hands. 

Jay grinned. “We’re pear-y sorry!” he called to his tourney teammate. 

Aziz glared and Opal giggled harder. Melody turned back around, smiling sheepishly. Beside her, Jay relaxed onto the bench seat and casually stretched his arm over the back. Sparks erupted across Melody’s shoulders as his strong arm touched her skin.

“So,” Jay said with studied casualness, “how many cousins do you have?”

Melody took a deep breath to calm her thudding heart. “A lot,” she said with emphasis. “My dad is an only child but, you know, my mom is the youngest of seven. You actually might have met one of my cousins, Arabella? She was a senior last year. And then there’s Mako - he’s the one who came to the coronation ball? He’s the oldest and second in line for the Atlantican throne after my Aunt Attina. There’s about...thirty others, I think? We’re a big family. I'm the only only child."

Jay stared at her. “How do you keep them all straight?”

Melody bit her lip. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Jay sat a little straighter. “Of course.”

“I usually can’t,” she confessed. “I remember Mako because he’s my favorite, and Arabella since she was here last year, and there’s a couple others who are close to my age, but everyone else?” Melody shrugged helplessly. “I haven’t a clue.”

Jay laughed. “Oh, good,” he said. “If you can’t remember them then I won’t worry about remembering them when I meet them.”

Melody blinked at him. “You want to meet my family?”

Jay looked suddenly nervous. “We don’t really date on the Isle, but that’s what you do when you’re dating someone, right? Meet their family? So, yeah, I mean, if you want me to?”

Melody bit her lip to stop from grinning. “I’d like that.”

The carriage pulled to a stop and the upbeat thump of dance music filled the air. A footman in the gold and blue livery of Auradon Prep stepped forward to open the door and Jay stepped out of the carriage, turning to hold his hand out for Melody.

She grinned, taking his hand. “Very gentlemanly.”

Behind her, Aziz called, “Don’t be too impressed. I gave him a crash course.”

“Pay attention to your own date and stop heckling mine!” Melody called back, emboldened by her time spent with Jordan who, Poseidon bless her and all her children, had been coaching Melody on how not to be a complete disaster. 

Jay grinned down at her, threading her arm through his. “Defending my honor?” he teased as they stepped onto the red carpet.

Melody shrugged, glancing up at him flirtatiously from beneath her lashes. “I just want all your attention to myself.”

Jay’s gaze smoldered. “That won’t be difficult.”

The press gauntlet was in full swing as they approached but, thankfully, Evie had just stepped into the spotlight and the media surged toward her, mics held out eagerly. With Evie acting as a distraction, Melody and Jay were able to bypass the reporters and make their way towards the sleek, white yacht floating in the harbor.

Jane and her decorating committee had really outdone themselves. Round, golden lamps hung across the polished wood deck and sprays of enchanted blue and gold flowers filled the night air with their fragrant scent, mixing wonderfully with the ocean breeze. 

Lumier stood at the top of the stairs on the yacht and he smiled when he saw Melody and Jay, giving them a short bow and motioning for them to join the crowd of students happily mingling and dancing on the top deck. The ocean was still so the yacht did not rock with waves but Melody immediately felt at home, just being over the water.

“Wow,” Jay breathed, looking around. 

“It’s wonderful,” Melody agreed, then blinked spots from her vision when one of the strobe lights caught her in the eyes. 

“Come on,” Jay said, tugging her across the floor. 

With the thumping beat of the DJ, Melody couldn’t help but fall into the happy dancing of everyone else. Jay spun and shimmed, grinning gleefully and holding her hand. She wasn’t as graceful or coordinated as he was but for once she didn’t care. She was having too much fun.

Then, the music faded and the trumpeteers bugled. “The future Lady Mal,” Lumier called. With a quick, “Excuse me,” Jay darted forward to stand with his friends as Mal descended the grand staircase in a stunning gold dress with sparkling, blue lacy accents, her long, thick hair a pale purple, almost magenta.

_ Much better than that awful, washed out blonde, _ Melody thought, clapping along with everyone else.

Melody stayed to the back of the crowd, watching as next Ben was announced and made his way down the stairs. Then murmurs and shocked whispers filled the deck as a black girl, turquoise braids in a bun, appeared at the top of the stairs in a flowing turquoise gown.

She watched, stunned, with the rest of the crowd as Ben went to the stranger and escorted her down the stairs, holding her leather-clad hands. The hissed “Uma,” from Evie sent lightning darting through Melody’s nerves. She stared at the girl. This couldn’t be...could it?

Ben and Uma, daughter of Ursula, stared into each other's eyes, giggling like lovesick tweens. As thrilled as Melody was to finally see her cousin in the flesh, her stomach twisted at the heartbroken look on Mal’s face. 

A lilting waltz started - _ Kiss the Girl, _ Melody realized with a spark of irritation. _ My Mother’s song. _\- and Ben began leading Uma around the dance floor.

Then, Lumier announced, “And now, King Ben’s masterpiece!” 

The curtain at the far end of the ship fell away, revealing a stained glass mosaic of Mal and Ben looking very much in love. Melody whirled back to Ben and Uma but one of Rapunzel’s daughters - Ruby or Anxelin, she wasn’t sure which - blocked her view. She shifted to the side, peering around the updo of one hundred feet of blonde hair. When she could finally see again, Mal was kissing Ben for all she was worth. _ True Love’s kiss! _

A chorus of ooh’s and aww’s rose up from the crowd and Melody found herself joining in, swept away in the magic of the moment.

Uma shouted and ran to the ship’s railing. Melody watched shocked as the golden shell around Uma’s neck began to glow. Then, suddenly, Uma hurled herself over the side and into the ocean. 

Melody backed away as the crowd surged forward. Uma was her cousin. No matter anything else, Uma was her cousin and Melody could not let her go alone. 

With everyone distracted, Melody darted to the opposite railing, passing Audrey - _ Weird, I thought Audrey was on a spa retreat? _\- and launched herself over the ship’s side, sparing a mental apology for running off on Jay. 

Still, family came first and as she hit the water she traded legs for a tail.


	7. Chapter 7

Melody pumped her tail, diving deeper below the surface. Above her the shadow of the yacht was outlined by the multicolored strobe lights of the dance. Just to the left of the shadow, an underwater maelstrom swirled, something with tentacles at its center. She gasped, gleefully staring up at Uma Ursuladottir in all her merfolk glory.

The sheith style of her lovely coral dress was not a restriction, thankfully, so she swam beneath Uma, waiting.

Another, smaller shape crashed into the water and Melody recognized the blue-clad legs of Ben. Melody didn’t know what the king was thinking but she waited, staring at the surface.

Finally, Uma sunk below the waves, descending into the depths.

When Uma was almost even with Melody, her back to her, she swam forward. “Uma!”

The other girl whirled, jerking away. “Who the hell are you?”

Melody smiled. “I’m Melody,” she answered, swimming closer, “Ariel’s daughter. Your mother is my mother’s aunt.”

“_What?_”

“Your mother is my mother’s aunt and she taught my mother sea magic. We’re family.”

Uma’s dark eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

Melody blinked. What _ did _ she want? When she jumped into the water all she could think about was Uma being her family and how her family didn’t leave each other out in the cold. Even Ursula’s banishment was her own choice. The Sea Witch declared she was going and would not be persuaded otherwise. 

“We’re family,” Melody answered honestly. “That means we stick together.”

Uma snorted. “We’re not family.”

“Yes,” Melody insisted, “we are. I can prove it to you.”

Uma crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh yeah?”

Melody nodded eagerly. “Yes, I can. Come on,” she started swimming west, back toward Auradon Prep, “I have something back at my dorm I can get while everyone else is at the dance.”

“And why should I trust you?” Uma sneered.

Melody considered that, floating in the black sea. "You don't have to," she said finally, "but if you don't come with me, you'll get lost. The ocean is a very big place and there aren't a lot of landmarks."

Uma folded her arms across her chest, unmoved.

"I have a spellbook," Melody tried. "My mother's grimoire. That's what I want to get in my dorm. If you let me come with you wherever you're going, I'll give it to you. I can't do any of the spells in it - Grandpa says I'm probably too human - but I’m willing to bet you can."

Uma eyed her suspiciously, turquoise tentacles curling in the water like an octopus. "You're just going to...give me your mother's spellbook?"

Melody shrugged. "It's not like I'm using it. Well, except for the potions, but I have those memorized already. Come on." Again Melody began swimming for the school and this time Uma followed.

Melody led her cousin along the coast to a tunnel in the clifface. When she started for the yawning black hole, Uma balked. "Yeah, no. I'm not going in there. It looks like a murder cave."

"It's not a murder cave."

"That's exactly what someone would say about a murder cave."

Melody sighed and clapped her hands. Twin rows of lamplight sprang to life, lining the underwater passage. "This leads to an underground cave," she explained. "The cave's land entrance is a couple hundred feet from the trellis outside my dorm window. It's how I sneak out for a swim all the time."

Uma held up her hand. "That's fine. I'll wait right here."

Melody shrugged and hoped Uma would actually wait. "Suit yourself."

The underwater tunnel was a quick ten minute swim if Melody pushed herself and she pulled herself from the water with a grunt, the tulle of her ballgown suddenly feeling like a hundred pounds. She gasped with the effort and plopped onto the cold stone worn smooth by the passing of time and water. She lay there, catching her breath for a few minutes before forcing herself to sit up and fumble for the zipper along her ribs.

As she peeled the possibly ruined dress from her wet skin, Melody thanked the gods she'd chosen to wear pale pink tights under her dress and that she had a stash of clothes hidden in a shallow alcove on the cave wall.

Wearing a sports bra, tank top, and carrying her bundled dress and pretty shoes, Melody climbed the tunnel to the cave's entrance in bare feet, peering from the bushes that kept her cave hidden, making sure no one was around before starting for the trellis.

Climbing to her unlocked window took some figuring but eventually she draped the dress around her neck like a scarf and held the strappy heels in her teeth as she scaled the trellis and tumbled into her room.

As a Senior and at her request, Melody's dorm room was a single and she carefully hung her pretty dress in the shower to let it dry before scrambling around her room. Alongside her mother's grimoire, her shell-phone - waterproof with signal at least a thousand meters down - made it into her purple satchel, as well as another notebook of the same not-parchment as the grimoire, a squid ink pen, her small shell-top (the ocean's answer to laptops), a flashlight, and her clam shell locket.

She considered the contents of her bag, glancing at her shell collection arrayed on the shelves of her room. In the end, though, Mel left the shells where they were; her parents would send for her things after she called them.

Melody pulled her bag closed and climbed back out the window. She landed on the springy grass in her bare feet and returned to her cave with it's underwater tunnel. She was a little surprised to find Uma still floating at the cave's entrance, waiting for her. Melody more than half expected the older girl to vanish while she was gone.

"Well?" Uma asked impatiently.

Melody pulled the grimoire from her bag. "Here."

Uma grabbed at the book, opening it to a random page and reading greedily, the words illuminated by the soft glow of the shell at her neck. 

Melody peered at the shell curiously. It looked like the shell a hermit crab might use, one of those spirals about half the size of Melody's closed fist, except it seemed to be made of gold and hung from a gold chain. "Hey, is that the shell Ursula trapped my mom's voice in?"

Uma's hand went automatically to her necklace. "So what if it is?"

Melody swam closer. "That's really cool! Mom said the sacrifice of her voice is what made the transmogrification spell stick."

"The transmo-what?"

"Transmogrification," Melody answered eagerly. She reached out, flipping several pages in the grimoire Uma still held. "Here." She pointed to the page detailing the spell and ingredients required to change someone's shape. "This is the spell Aunt Ursula used -"

"You know, it's really disturbing hearing you call my mom 'aunt,'" Uma commented.

Melody shrugged. "You'll get used to it. Grandpa will probably say you can call him Uncle Triton or something." She refocused on the spell, ignoring Uma's horrified expression and moving her finger to the notes in her mother's spikey cursive. "See how to make it last more than a few hours there has to be something lost? Loss and gain, everything in balance. That's how sea magic works. And the greater the loss the longer the spell sticks. Mom losing her voice gave her three days of human legs."

“Then how can I go from legs to tentacles?” Uma demanded. “And what about the contract stuff? The whole by-sunset-on-the-third-day-or-your-soul-is-mine? My mom still has that contract hanging on the wall."

“It’s probably because you’re half human, like me. A child born of sea and shore, able to live in both. As for the contract,” Melody shrugged, “the way Mom explained it, it was less contract and more bet. Mom was in love with Dad and was convinced he was her One True Love - of course, she was right - but Aunt Ursula wasn't convinced. Apparently they had a big fight about it, too. It didn't help that Mom had wanted to visit land for years and years but Grandpa and Aunt Ursula never let her."

Uma studied the book in her hands. Melody had memorized the contents and knew what her cousin saw: diagrams and notes and lists of ingredients and incantations, all in two distinct hands. Melody would bet a gold drachma one of the handwritings in her mother's grimoire belonged to Ursula.

"So, my mother really isn't Evil?" Uma asked slowly.

Melody shook her head; she could hear the capitalization. "Not from the stories I hear. Mom said Aunt Ursula insisted on going to the Isle to make sure the villains couldn't escape. But that doesn't mean she's nice," Melody added, seeing the lost expression on Uma's face. "Good doesn't always mean nice."

Uma frowned, mulling the words over. "Good doesn't always mean nice," she muttered. She glanced at Melody, "How'd you get so smart?"

"I had a fairly isolated childhood and my best friend was a Sebastian, the crab who watched my mom for Grandpa when she was a teenager. He likes to lecture and he's wiser than he looks."

Uma blinked at her, confused. "Why was your best friend a crab? Didn't you hang out with all the pretty pink princesses?"

"Umm, not really? Until about three years ago I wasn't allowed to leave the palace grounds. We had this huge seawall built to keep the ocean out and I was escorted everywhere - unless I snuck out. Which I did. _ A lot _. But I didn't even go to school. I had all these private tutors."

"Why?"

"Because we have another aunt, Morgana, who _ is _ Evil. She threatened to kill me when I was a baby - almost did, too - unless Grandpa handed over his trident. But don't worry," Melody added hastily, "she's frozen in a block of ice at the bottom of an Arctic trench so no worries there. Now," Melody drifted a little away, "where do you want to go first?"

Uma stared at her. "Go?"

Melody nodded. "Yeah, go. You're free from the Isle. I know when the seawall first came down I spent a whole year sailing everywhere with my parents. So, where do you want to go?"

Uma shrugged blankly. "I don't know."

"Can I take you to some of my favorite places?"

Uma considered that. "Yeah," she said slowly, "I guess so."

Melody beamed. "Excellent." She turned so she floated next to Uma, both facing open water. "Portals and going between worlds is something every mermaid can do naturally," she explained, holding up her hand, palm out. “It helps us travel the open ocean.” The water in front of them began to twist and swirl silently, like a sideways, underwater vortex. "It's the only magic I have besides shifting between legs and a tail."

Melody started for the portal but Uma didn't. "Where are we going?"

Melody glanced over her shoulder. "It's a surprise," she said, "but I promise you'll love it."

Uma eyed the portal dubiously. "You're not leading me into a trap?"

Melody held up her hand. "I swear by Poseidon that I am not knowingly leading you into a trap or other form of danger."

A little of the tension in Uma's shoulders released. The sea god Poseidon was not known for his mercy on oathbreakers, especially those who invoked his name. Feeling marginally better, Uma followed Melody through the portal and into the unknown.


	8. Chapter 8

**One Year Later**

Melody lounged on a rock, tail draped lazily over the side, tendrils of black hair floating in the current. Her shell necklace lay open in her hand, the tinkling song filling the water as the image of Atlantica glowed, the shadows of merfolk swimming across the cityscape. She hummed idly along to the tune for a moment before snapping the golden shell shut and looping the chain back around her neck. 

“So,” she asked, settling the locket beneath her crop top, “where to next?”

Floating above her, tentacles curling and turquoise braids twisting, Uma lay on her back, staring at the surface. She hummed noncommittally.

Melody glanced up at her. “We’ve been to Mount Olympus, the Pacific Islands, Atlantis, Atlantica, and my parents’ kingdom,” she said, ticking their adventures off on her fingers. “You’ve met the gods, our grandfather Poseidon; we helped Tipp and Dash find sunken treasure; then we helped Sinbad and Marina with that thing in the Red Sea; you’ve met Maui and Moana -”

“I liked Maui,” Uma commented. “He was fun.”

Melody snorted, continuing, “We found CJ and now she’s in Neverland just like she wanted.”

“That’s a cool place.”

“We even got rid of Morgana once and for all.”

“Yeah, you made her sound like some Big Bad, or something. She wasn’t even that scary.”

“You literally _ inked _ everywhere when she broke out of the ice.”

Uma scoffed. “Whatever.”

Melody pulled the stick that kept her long braid in a bun at the back of her head. It looked like a miniature spear, complete with a wickedly sharp, curved blade at the tip. She twirled it idly in her fingers. “You know, everywhere we’ve gone you tore through the books on magic.”

Uma looked at her sharply.

Melody smiled up at her. “You thought I didn’t notice, but I did. What were you looking for?”

Uma sighed and turned over so she floated on her stomach, looking down at Melody on her rock. “I was looking for a way to bring down the barrier.”

Melody peered up at her. “Why do you want to bring down the barrier?”

“Because it’s horrible!” Uma cried furiously. “We live like rats, starving and eating Auradon’s scraps! Before I got out I never ate any food that wasn’t already half rotten! And there are kids on the Isle, Mels. _ Kids! _ They’ve never done anything wrong except having the bad luck of having criminals as parents!”

Melody frowned. She’d never thought about it like that before. Her only experience with VKs was Evie and Jay and neither of them had ever talked about life on the Isle. She hadn’t really thought about it being any different than Auradon beyond having a lot more leather and spikes, but it made sense. The Isle was for villains. What chance did children have when their home was created for and ruled by the baddest of the bad? 

Melody sat up. “Alright,” she said.

“What?”

“Alright,” Melody repeated. “Let’s bring down the barrier.”

Uma swam down to her. “Really?”

Melody nodded. “Yes, really. What do we do first?”

Uma beamed. “First, we see if there’s any holes.”

Melody pushed off from her rock and wound her hair back into a bun, stabbing the mess with the miniature glaive. “Sounds good. Would you like to do the honors?”

Uma held out her hand. A few feet away, the water swirled, forming an underwater whirlpool. Together, the cousins dived in.


	9. Chapter 9

The barrier was impenetrable. Melody shoved angrily against the opaque golden wall. Her hands sparked and burned where she hit, leaving angrily red welts on her palms. 

Uma sighed behind her. “You need to stop doing that.”

Melody grumbled, turning and holding out her hands. 

Uma swam toward her, a small knife in one tentacle. She pricked one of her own fingers, letting drops of red blood flow into the water. With a muttered healing song, she traced her pricked finger along Melody’s palms, leaving smooth, healed skin in her wake. 

Melody flexed her hands. “Thanks. It’s just - it’s so frustrating! The barrier’s impenetrable.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

“_Gods!_”

Uma sighed. “We’ve swum all around the Isle; we’ve had dolphins do that noise thing -”

“Echo location,” Melody snapped irritably, “and that was a good idea.”

“Don’t take that tone with me.”

Melody shot Uma a glare. “How are you not pissed off?’

Uma smirked. “You know, being around you for a year teaches an unbelievable amount of patience.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Hey, just be grateful you finally got over that word vomit thing.”

Melody smiled. “Yeah. Thanks for that.” 

Uma sighed. “Come on. There might be something on the surface.”

Melody nodded, following Uma around the curved dome that was the Isle’s barrier. After three weeks of searching every inch of the barrier from surface to sea floor, Melody knew it well. They were on the windward side of the Isle, heading north to the leeward side. A dingy coral reef passed beneath her and she wondered if the Evil from the Isle leaked through the barrier to corrupt the ocean floor. 

A shadow passed overhead and Melody glanced up. The Isle’s pier jutted out over the water and something moved. “Hey, Uma!”

“What?”

Melody pointed. Uma swam back, looking up at the surface. “Is that…?”

Melody nodded, staring up. “Ah huh.”

Uma surged to the surface. Melody bit her lip, watching Uma. Should she join her? The VKs were up there. There were two more people, too, people Melody didn’t recognize.

Before Melody could make up her mind, Uma was back, grinning wickedly, something curled in one turquoise tentacle. “Come on!” she laughed, racing for the other side of the pier. 

Melody followed and with a swirl of ocean magic she and Uma were propelled in a waterspout up into the air. She yelped and the moment her lungs took in air she traded her tail for legs.

She landed with a stumble next to Uma on the pier, wearing coral leather pants tucked inside knee-high sea boots and matching leather vest over a cotton shirt, the collar hanging loosely off her shoulders and puffy sleeves tightened at the cuffs. 

"Uma!" Melody protested. For a year her cousin tried to get her in pirate clothes and now she finally succeeded.

Uma just winked unrepentantly.

Something clinked when Melody shook her head and the flash of gold caught her eye. Small braids littered her long black hair, decorated with gold beads and cuffs. Melody gave Uma a Look, but the other girl was beaming, white teeth flashing against her dark skin, focused on the other side of the pier.

“Hi, boys,” Uma called, twisting something that glowed blue in her long fingers.

Two boys, one dark haired with sea green eyes and the other blond and built, gaped at her. Then, the dark one grinned. “Welcome back!” he cried in a lilting voice, coming to Uma with open arms. 

Melody eyed the boy nervously; he had a_ hook _ in his hand.

Uma and the dark haired boy exchanged grins and laughs. Then, the boy’s pretty green eyes caught sight of Melody. “Well, well,” he cooed, stepping around Uma, “who is this beauty?”

Melody blinked in surprise as the boy took her hand in his non-hook one, lifting it between them. “Um, hello?” 

“Harry,” Uma snapped, “leave Melody alone.”

“Melody?!”

Melody looked over Harry’s head and saw Jay. Carlos, Evie, Mal and a younger, unknown girl were with him. She beamed, pulling her hand from Harry’s and stepping around him. “Jay!”

Jay stepped towards her, dark eyes roving up and down her frame. “You look...different.”

Melody blushed under his perusal, tugging nervously at one of her black braids. “It’s been an interesting year.”

Jay smiled, slow and warm, dark eyes sparkling.

“I don’t have time for this!” Mal snapped.

Melody glanced at her. The daughter of Maleficent looked frantic, green wide eyes and face especially pale. Her attention was fixed on Uma.

“It’s not all about you, Mal,” Uma sneered. She glanced at the tall blond and Harry. “I was looking for a hole in the barrier, to let everybody out. You know, that thing you promised to do?” Uma turned to the boys, grinning. “And do you know what I found boys? It’s _ way _ better out there than we thought.”

Melody grinned, shifting closer to Uma as her cousin told the boys - who must be Harry Hook and Gil Gaston, her best friends - about coconuts and whales. 

Gil’s sad eyes turned on Uma, wide and innocent. “Uma, you swam off and forgot all about us.”

“Not likely,” Melody informed him, stepping closer. “You should have seen her learning magic so she could bring down the barrier.”

Gi brightened. “Oh.” Then, he frowned. “Who are you?”

Melody smiled at him. “Melody, daughter of King Eric and Queen Ariel. Uma and I are cousins. I’ve been helping.”

Gil beamed. “Awesome!” He lifted his hand and Melody slapped his palm in a high five. The blond’s cheerfulness was contagious. 

“Uma,” Mal barked. “I need to talk to you.”

Uma rolled her eyes but followed Mal to the end of the pier. Melody could just hear the hissed whispers but she couldn’t understand what they were saying. Instead, she turned to Gil and Harry. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said cheerfully. “Uma has told me all about you.”

“Has she now?” Harry oozed forward, accent strong.

“Hey,” Jay snapped, coming up behind Melody and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Back off.”

Melody’s insides leaped at his touch and she turned to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “It’s good to see you.”

Jay gave her a gentle squeeze. “You too, but what’s going on? Last time I heard from you, you said your parents wanted you back home.”

“Oh, uh…” The excited butterflies in Melody’s stomach twisted nervously. "I lied?"

Jay looked hurt.

Her mother said she could tell her friends. It wasn’t as if she could get in trouble for befriending Uma. _ Technically _ Uma was an Atlantican and Atlantica had no extradition treaty with Auradon. 

“Uma and I are cousins,” she said, leaning back to look into Jay’s handsome face. “Her mom isn’t Actually Evil so she and I have been exploring the ocean together. It’s been a lot of fun!”

Jay frowned at her. “But she’s a villain.”

Melody scowled. “She’s about as much a villain as you are, Jay. Unless you’ve decided to change sides?”

Jay spluttered. “What? No, of course not!”

She poked him in the chest. “Then quit judging. All Uma wants is to get every innocent off the Isle. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“We’ve been working on that,” Jay said. “There’s a program now to bring Isle kids to Auradon.”

“What about the barrier?”

“The barrier has to stay up,” he insisted. “There’s actual Villains on the Isle who would try to destroy the world if they were free.”

Melody considered that. In her eagerness to help Uma she’d forgotten that the barrier served a purpose. She sighed. “That’s fair.”

“Switching sides already?” Harry jeered, eyeing Melody and Jay.

“I’m on Uma’s side,” Melody snapped. “That doesn’t mean the other perspective is automatically wrong.”

“You know,” Jay commented, “you’re different.”

Melody shrugged, the motion lifting Jay’s arm where it still rested on her shoulders. “It’s been a year and Uma has that effect on people.” She gave him a nervous, sideways look. “Is it bad?”

“Nah,” Jay said with an easy smile. “You’re still you.”

“Good. So,” Melody looked over Jay’s shoulder to Carlos and Evie and the unknown kid, “what’s going on with you?”

“Audrey stole the Dragon’s Eye Staff and is trying to take over Auradon.”

A chill ran down Melody’s spine. When her mother gave her the grimoire Melody did all the research she could manage on magical artifacts. Maleficent’s Dragon Eye Staff was the most dangerous. It was almost unbeatable. Only the power of a god could overcome it and the gods didn’t just lend their power to anyone. Still, there were safeguards against just anyone using it. “But...doesn’t the staff send anyone who isn’t Maleficent or Mal into a hundred-year sleep if they pick it up?”

The VKs exchanged looks. “It should,” Evie agreed.

“But it didn’t,” Carlos added.

“And now she’s put a sleeping spell all over Auradon and we have to stop her,” Jay finished.

Behind her, Uma’s voice rose angrily. “Well how 'bout now?”

Melody turned. Uma held the glowing stone she stole over the water, glaring viciously at Mal.

“Deal!” Mal cried.

Uma didn’t move, still holding the stone over the water, glaring at Mal suspiciously.

“Her word is good,” Evie said, soothing voice firm.

Melody bit her lip, stepping from beneath Jay’s arm. “Uma,” she said gently, “whatever that stone is, we have to help Auradon. We’re not Evil.”

Uma considered Mal, dark eyes sparkling. Finally, she tucked the blue stone into her leather jacket. “Good is not nice,” she said and Melody didn’t know if she was talking about herself or Mal, “so I think I’ll keep this, for now. Because if you think I trust you to save the world, think again.” Uma walked to Harry, Gil and Melody, reaching out. 

Melody grinned, exchanging hand clasps with them, loving the new feeling of mischief and camaraderie as she was welcomed into their crew.

“This is a job for pirates,” Uma cackled.

Melody glared at Uma. She was _ not _ a pirate.


	10. Chapter 10

Melody followed closely behind Uma as they stepped onto Auradon soil. Gone a year but it felt like only yesterday she ran from Cotillion and left the school far behind to travel the seven seas with her cousin. 

She frowned. There were weirdly colored shapes splayed across the school’s front lawn. As they got closer the bottom dropped from her stomach. _People_.

Anxelin and Ruby, the twin daughters of Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene, were in a crumpled heap in the middle of the road. Were they -?

Ruby shifted, snoring loudly. 

“They’re asleep,” Melody breathed, relief washing through her. She knelt down, trying to shake them awake. Nothing. “Ruby? Anxelin?”

Gravel crunched and Mal stood next to her, looking down at the twins. “It’s the Curse of Sleep,” she said. “Same one my mother used on Aurora.”

Melody looked up. Past the twins were even more teenagers and teachers scattered across the school grounds. All of them with lolling heads, the soft sound of snores a whispering rumble. “Everyone’s asleep.”

“Should we - do they need to be moved?” Jay asked, standing next to her.

Melody bit her lip, glancing up at him. “Yeah, we should just in case.”

She went to Ruby’s feet while Jay went to her head. Uma saw what they were doing and rolled her eyes but she grabbed Gil and they moved Anxelin next to Ruby on a soft clump grass where they wouldn’t be hurt.

“I can’t get Ben,” Mal said, shoving her phone back into her pocket. 

“Or Dizzy or Doug,” Evie echoed. 

“Or Jane,” Carlos added. He frowned at his phone. “The signal’s out.”

Melody pulled out her phone. Unlike the VK’s, her shell phone was designed to work even when normal cell service was impossible; _thank you sea magic_. She checked the signal indicator and found absolutely nothing.

“It’s a magical block,” she said. “Not even my phone is working and it’s designed to work at the bottom of the ocean.” 

Carlos perked up. “Really?” He leaned over her shoulder, studying her phone.

“Focus,” Mal sighed. 

Celia’s steps stuttered as they crossed the lawn. Her dark eyes bulged, staring up at the old stone castle that was the school. She pointed. “Is that Auradon Prep?”

Melody shot her grin. “That’s how I felt when I first saw it, though I think I was more stunned by the number of people.”

“But you’re an Auradon kid,” Gil protested. “Aren’t you, like, used to castles and stuff?”

Melody shrugged. “I was used to my castle by the sea. I hadn’t seen anything except that before I came here. Whole different experience.”

“So yer a strange one, aren’t ye?” Harry sauntered to her, green eyes sparkling, eyeliner smudged. 

She lifted her head. In seeing the way he was around Uma, Melody had decided she wasn’t afraid of Hook Jr. She opened her mouth to respond but Jay appeared, planting himself at her back, her shoulder brushing his chest. “She’s perfect the way she is.”

Heat crawled up Melody’s cheeks but she was privately pleased.

Harry rolled his eyes but didn’t respond, wandering after Uma. 

Gil didn’t seem to notice the exchange with Harry. He stared all around, eyes wide. “Everything is so…”

“Freaky?” Jay suggested. 

“..._Green_.”

Melody frowned, silently shadowing Jay as he turned to follow Gil around the lawn. She hadn’t considered the aesthetic of Auradon would be so vastly different from the Isle, though she should have. 

“You have leaves on your trees,” Gil said. “And what are those colored things on the bushes?”

She and Jay exchanged a look. “Um...flowers?” Jay answered. 

Gil grinned, a little dopey but with charming dimples. “Flowers are pretty.” His eyes caught on a bowl of fruit on one of the iron tables where more Auradon students sat snoring. “Cantaloupe!” 

He popped a bit of the fruit into his mouth and hummed happily, juice dribbling down his chin to his chest. Seeing Melody and Jay watching him, he swallowed. “We don’t have fresh fruit on the Isle, remember?”

Jay flushed. He grabbed the bowl and handed it to him. 

Gil took it eagerly. “Thanks!”

“They’re grapes,” Jay said as if he had asked. 

Harry circling a sleeping teenager caught Melody’s eye. She darted forward, grabbing his arm just as he pulled away holding the kid’s wallet. She gave him a withering look.

“I believe I deserve some compensation,” he drawled, “for my muscles, my wile, and my role in this endeavor.”

Melody snatched the wallet back, resisting the urge to smack him with it. “If you want to be in Auradon, you don’t get monetary rewards for doing the right thing.”

“Well it’s no wonder one of your goody-goodies snapped.” 

She scowled and tucked the wallet back into the boy’s shirt pocket. “We don’t know what happened. Now, come on.” 

To Melody’s surprise Harry obeyed, following her over to Mal and Carlos where they were talking to...Dude?

She stared down at the scruffy terrier. “Um, since when does Dude talk?”

The tawny dog grinned up at her. “I ate a weird tasting gummy thing last year.”

“You gave him a speech spell?” Melody rounded on Carlos. “Seriously?”

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Carlos protested. 

“We’ll explain later,” Mal snapped. “Dude, do you know what happened here?”

“Yup.” Dude licked his lips. “Audrey showed up. She put everybody to sleep. She had the weird, creepy staff thing from the museum and that shiny circle thing. I think you call it a crown? Anyway, everyone is asleep and then she turned some of them to -”

“Guys,” Evie called fearfully. 

Melody turned. The taller, blue haired girl stood in front a terrifyingly lifelike stone statue.

“Hannah turned to stone,” Evie breathed. 

Fear trickled down Melody’s spine. _Stone._ It was just like the stories. People turned to stone, others cursed to sleep for a hundred years. Her hands shook at her sides. She tried to swallow but her mouth was dry. 

“We got this,” Uma whispered so only Melody could hear. “We faced Morgana, found sunken treasure, kicked that tiger shark’s ass, _and_ dyed Triton’s beard neon green.”

Melody licked her lips, courage slowly returning. “We got this,” she repeated. Unseen by the others, Uma reached down and squeezed her hand. Melody took a deep breath. _We got this._

“Everybody stay on their toes,” Jay encouraged. 

“Since we’re here, let’s check the school,” Uma suggested, heading for the old gray castle.

“No,” Mal replied, frowning thoughtfully. “Audrey went straight for the crown so I think it’s safe to assume she’s gonna go for Ben and his castle next. That’s where we’ll go.”

Uma raised an eyebrow. “Says who?”

Mal stepped up to meet her. “Says me.”

“Says you.” Uma snorted. “And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”

“Guys,” Melody stepped between the two, feeling, for the first time, like the princess of two worlds she actually was. By her history she should side with the VKs, but by blood she should stand with the Pirates. Her only option was peacekeeper. 

“We don’t have time for this,” Evie reminded them softly. The tension in Melody’s shoulders eased. At least there was another person to help keep the infighting at a minimum.

Mal gave Uma one last look before turning. “To the castle.”

Behind Mal’s back, Uma rolled her eyes. Melody smiled sympathetically but didn’t speak. 

Ben’s castle wasn’t far from Auradon, made of the same gray stone but far more ornate and significantly larger. The guards in gold and blue uniforms snoozed where they stood, using their spears to stay upright. Inside, more servants, footmen, and various other people sat on furniture or sprawled across the floor, all asleep.

_If they weren’t snoring, they could be dead._ The thought sent a chill running through Melody’s veins. When she first heard Aurora’s story she hadn’t given much thought to an entire kingdom under a sleeping spell. She hadn't comprehended how truly horrific hundreds of people just lying there was. She suddenly hoped the curse hadn't caught anyone who was driving, or worse, _swimming_.

“Ben!” Mal called, leading them through the halls. Her voice reverberated on the stone floors. “Ben could be asleep anywhere.”

“Or turned to stone,” Celia pointed out.

Evie gave her a sharp look. “Not helping.”

“Ben!” Mal called again, voice shaky.

“This way!” Dude called, hooking a left. “I got a scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me, people.”

Carlos grinned. “That’s great, Dude.”

“I give good cuddles, too,” the scruffy terrier chirped cheerfully, trotting off.

The VK’s and Pirates followed the little dog. 

“Really?” Gil asked. “I never had a pet growing up. Well, except for the elk head in Dad’s man cave.”

Melody hung back, trying to stay out of the way as she followed the group down the hall. This wasn’t necessarily her fight and yet it was entirely her fight. Melody didn’t know why Audrey lost her marbles but she knew the pretty pink princess. For Audrey to turn to the bad Melody knew there had to be a Reason.

Jay fell into step beside her. “Hey.”

Melody smiled back at him. “Hey.”

“When this all over, do you want to go out?”

Heat spread across her cheeks. “Like a date?”

Jay grinned, white teeth flashing against his dark skin. “Exactly like a date.”

“Yeah.” Melody nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Great!”

“Movin’ in on our girl now, are ya?” Harry slid his arm across her shoulder. 

Jay scowled but Melody rolled her eyes. “I’m your girl?”

“Yer a Pirate,” Harry replied, grinning wickedly, “our newest Pirate. Yer our girl and we,” he waved to Uma and Gil up ahead, “look after our own.”

Jay growled. Melody placed a hand on his arm and he fell silent. With her other hand she jabbed Harry in the ribs. 

“Watch it!” Harry rubbed his side, sliding away from her.

Melody giggled. It was too funny seeing him pout like a toddler. 

“Hold up.” Uma stopped, staring at the wall. Four long marks scarred the wood. A painting was sliced in half, cut clean through as a hot knife through butter. 

Melody swallowed. _Claw marks._

Uma ran her hand over the marks. She turned to Melody. “Any chance this was already there?”

Melody shook her head. 

“And follow me!” Dude called. 

The VKs called for Ben but only silence answered. Dude led them into a large atrium, the windows made of stained glass and full suits of armor lining the walls. At the center was a small, circular raised dais beneath a round chandelier. 

The VKs and Pirates spread out, searching, calling for Ben. Melody eyed the room but stayed at the entrance, guarding their getaway, just in case. Celia stood next to her, arms folded across her stomach, dark eyes flicking back and forth. 

There was something in the air. It felt tight, heavy. Melody’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. Slowly, she reached up into the brim of her hat. 

When Uma put her in pirate leathers, Melody had checked her accessories: gold beads and cuffs woven into her black hair that clinked gently when she moved, a thick leather belt hanging from her hips, even thin gold rings on her fingers. What she did not have was a sword, unlike Uma, Gil and Harry. 

What Melody _did_ have was a thin, stick like object tipped by a wide, curved blade. It was a gift from her grandfather, King Triton. A glaive that grew and shrank according to her will. 

She was pulling her glaive from the band in her hat when metal creaked. 

Purple smoke wafted from the visor of the suit of armor nearest the others. 

"I believe we’re being challenged,” Harry said slowly, pale hand wrapping around Uma’s shoulder and gently pulling her back.

Uma didn’t seem to notice, too busy bickering with Mal. “Let’s split up and look for Audrey.”

Melody twirled her glaive, the weapon growing as it moved through the air. “Uma.”

“That makes absolutely no sense,” Mal snapped. “Unless you give me my ember, she’s going to spell you.”

“Girls!”

They rounded on Harry, glaring daggers. 

Harry ignored their anger. He pointed at the suit of armor. “We have a situation here.”

Finally the others noticed the moving armor. They stumbled back. Audrey’s familiar voice filled the room, sending chills down Melody’s spine. “Do you like a prince, Mal?” she cackled. “How about a knight in shining armor?”

Purple smoke billowed from the armor’s joints and visor. Around the room metal shrieked as all of the suits of armor came to life. _Shit._

Melody brought her glaive up, the five foot long teak staff crossing her body, eighteen inch metal blade glinting dully in the light filtering from the glass ceiling. 

The knights lifted their swords. 

“We can counter their attacks,” Evie assured even as the VKs and Pirates backed away.

“Get the weapons from the walls,” Jay ordered. 

Everyone scrambled, grabbing down swords and shields. Melody tore down a bright yellow shield from the wall nearest the door, shoving it at Celia. “If things go south, run,” she ordered the younger girl.

“I don’t listen to you,” Celia protested.

Melody met her dark eyes squarely, summoning all of her father’s kingly authority. “Today you do.”

Celia blinked, shifting slightly back. “Alright, alright.”

Melody turned back to the fight. 

“I know how to win,” Uma called. “Hold the line and we can bring them to their knees.”

“We’re outnumbered one-to-fifty,” Carlos squeaked. 

“I’ve got a strategy.” Mal jumped onto the dais. She pointed at Jay and Gil. “You take the left and the rest of you with me.”

Uma bared her teeth, stepping into Mal’s face. “This is my crew!”

“My squad, my terf,” Mal snarled.

“For the love of -” Evie jumped onto the dais, pushing the two apart. “We have bigger problems than your egos.”

_Thank all the gods for Evie,_ Melody thought. She swung her glaive in a wide arc, keeping a pair of knights at bay. 

“Watch your back!” Gil shouted, bringing his sword up to block a swing aimed at Carlos. 

“Work together to get the job done,” Melody ordered, hoping the others would hear over the clang of steel. 

Mal and Uma fought at the far end of the atrium, taking on three knights. Melody hacked and lunged, sweeping through the pattern dances that were pure muscle memory. She hit armor and force reverberated up through her arms. She gasped in pain, only countless hours of training keeping her from dropping her weapon. 

“Just because we’re fighting together doesn’t mean we’re on the same side,” Uma snarked. 

Melody bared her teeth, forcing the knights back. _If only words were weapons all of this would be over already._

“We’ll get out this alive if we stick together,” Mal snapped back. “I’ll distract. You attack from the side.”

Miraculously, Uma obeyed, the two gang leaders working in almost perfect harmony. 

Celia shrieked. Melody turned, weapon up, to find the shorter girl holding up her shield between Melody and the sharp edge of a knight’s sword. Celia bashed the knight in the head with the shield. The knight stumbled back, helmet spinning and noticeably dented. 

“Thanks,” Melody gasped, taking the momentary reprieve to wipe a trickle of sweat from her forehead. 

“I’ll hit from the front, you hit from behind,” Uma called. “For Auradon!”

Pride swelled in Melody’s heart, hearing Uma declare herself for the kingdom. If there was any greater proof that Uma had a good heart, Melody didn’t know it. 

“Back to back,” Harry called, placing himself between Carlos and two knights. 

Slowly but surely the combined efforts of the VKs and the Pirates were forcing the knights into a defensive pyramid. The teenagers regrouped, forming themselves into an offensive line. But the battle wasn’t won yet. 

_Animation spell,_ Melody suddenly realized. “Hit them together until the armor cracks!”

There was enough magic between Uma and Mal that a hit from both of them at the same time could disrupt the spell that animated the suits of armor without needing the exact counterspell. “Together!” she called desperately.

Uma and Mal seemed to hear. They swung their swords up, bringing them down in a vicious hack that hit the lead knight. Magic sprouted like lighting from where their swords met the knight’s, crackling from one suit of armor to the next.

The knights jumped and jolted as the magic hit. It wasn’t enough to completely destroy the animation spell but suddenly the knights weren’t queued into Audrey’s direction.

Mal planted herself on the dais, green eyes glowing as she stared the knights down. “Suit of armor strong and true, make this metal bust a move.”

The oppressive, invisible cloud of magic shifted. The adrenaline racing through Melody’s veins ebbed. She gasped for breath, watching in bewildered fascination as the fight for their lives turned into a dance battle, music swelling from seemingly nowhere. 

Celia bounced on her toes, cheering. The VK’s and Pirates whooped and shouted, joining in the impromptu dance with their own moves. Melody stayed where she was, laughter bubbling from her throat. _What a clever twist of the spell,_ she thought. Couldn’t remove the animation, couldn’t make them stop fighting, so turn the battle into something fun.

When the music finally faded, the suits of armor were sprawled in a heap on the dais and none of the teeangers were hurt, all grinning and clapping each other on the back. 

Then Uma and Mal almost high fived and the newfound camaraderie died. 

“No,” Evie said softly, seeing the other two pull away from each other. 

Melody frowned, watching as the Pirates and the VKs separated, each group standing on opposite sides of the room, congratulating themselves inside their little huddles. Only Evie stood between them, obviously sad at the segregation. 

“Guys, come on,” Evie said, looking between the groups. “This was so great.”

Melody joined Evie, nodding. “We worked together, a team.” She looked beseechingly at Uma. 

Evie’s shoulders suddenly perked up and she smiled. “You know what we should try? An icebreaker.”

Melody almost laughed but the other girl was so earnest.

“You say something you really like about the other person,” Evie continued, flipping her blue hair over her shoulder. “I’ll start." She turned, lifting her chin to focus on Harry.

The Pirate eyed her warily, shoulders hunching instinctively. Melody suddenly wondered how often he'd been the center of such focused attention. She would bet a lot, and more likely than not, none of it had turned out well.

"Harry," Evie said, smiling brilliantly, "great accent."

Harry stared at her, green eyes wide.

"Now you go," Evie encouraged.

Melody smiled. Harry seemed so surprised at Evie's compliment. Surprised and pleased. Melody remembered that feeling, when someone you barely knew gave a genuine compliment. She decided then that, although she didn't know him well, she would definitely start reminding him of all the things that made him great.

Uma raised an eyebrow, looking around Evie to Mal. "Is she always this perky?"

"It wasn't really your turn," Evie began -

Mal grabbed her arm and turned her back towards the VKs. "Eves," she said, smiling and tilting her head, "I love you. I love this energy, it's great, but we are very short on time." She gestured to the knights. "Audrey obviously knows we're here so we need to get going, yeah?"

Evie sighed but nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Maybe we should try Audrey's room?" Melody suggested as she tucked her shrunken glaive back into the band of her hat. Jay's dark eyes tracked the motion but he seemed to be the only who noticed.

"Good idea," Uma said, nodding. She turned to Mal. "Where does this cheerleader bunk down? Even if she's not there we might find some sort of clue."

Something, some unknown emotion, flickered across Evie's face, almost like guilt. "She's still in the dorms."

That same almost guilt flashed across Mal's face. "Because of summer school."

"Summer school?" Harry laughed in disbelief. "You have summer school? No wonder the lass wants revenge."

"She had to leave school last year," Carlos said, looking edgy.

Melody frowned. Audrey wasn't the type to just miss a year of school, too uptight. In the two years she spent at Auradon Prep, Melody couldn't remember the princess being absent for a single day. There had to be something more to it if Audrey missed a whole year, maybe something that led to their current situation.

Mal rolled her eyes at Harry but otherwise ignored him. "I need you guys," she gestured at Gil, Harry, Carlos, and Jay, "to go find Ben. We'll meet back at Evie's in two hours."

Without waiting for a response, Mal strode from the room. Uma rolled her eyes but quickly joined her.

Melody nodded to the boys. "Good luck," she said before trotting after Maleficent's daughter.


End file.
